Folding umbrella.



S. J. GLARK.

FOLDING UMBBELLA.

APPLIOATION FILED APB. 12, 1910.

Patented ot.18',191o.

STUART J. CLARK, OF AUBURN, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING UMBRELLA.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, STUART J. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Auburn, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Umbrellas, of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use my said invention. v

rlhe general purpose of the invention is to provide an umbrella adapted to be folded to occupy short space for convenience in packing in a trunk or hand bag.

More specilic purposes of the invention are to provide a hinge handle and means for giving rigidity to the handle when eX- tended; to provide jointed bows of such construction that the turning of the joints will not cut the cover; to provide in connection with the jointed bows primary braces adapted to support the bows when they are eX- tended, and secondary braces connected to raise the upper member of each jointed bow during the operation of folding the umbrella; and to provide a latch holding the secondary braces against upward movement, and means for releasing said latch.

l/Vith these ends in view my invention consists in the novel features of construction and combinations of parts shown in the annexed drawing to which reference is hereby made, and in which similar reference numerals and characters designate like parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the extended umbrella; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the folded umbrella; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the sleeve, braces, the spring latch at the upper end of the .sleeve and the means for operating the latch; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the set of bows and braces and shows in dotted lines the changed position or' the parts when the umbrella is folded, Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line X. X. of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical seetion on the line Y. Y. of Fig. 4; Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail of the spring latch and the means for operating same, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail of the hinge connection of the stamembers to the latch for holding the umbrella when it is closed.

The staff 1 is preferably an iron rod. The handle 2 is secured at the lower end of the staff and the ring 3 is secured near the up- Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application led April 12, 1910.

Patented Get. 18, 1910.

Serial No. 555,036.

per end of the staff. rllhe bows have a hinge connection with the ring 3.

An upper tube 4 surrounds and is slidable on the staf'l" 1 and has at its upper end a collar 4a, engaged by the latch 5 to normally prevent upward'sliding of the tube on the stem. The latch also controls upward sliding of the sleeve 6 on the statt, as hereinafter described.

The upper sleeve 6 surrounds and is slidable on the tube 4. A relatively short tube 7 is stationary on the staff, adjacent to the handle 2, and the lower end of the tube 4 abuts against the upper end of the tube 7 when the umbrella is raised. The tubes 4 and 7 are both of the same caliber, so that there is no break in the continuity of the tube surrounding the central statf 1, and the sleeve 9 will slide smoothly on both tubes. The-tube 7 has a slot 72L accommodating the latch 8 which engages the corresponding slot 9a inthe sleeve 9 to prevent upward movement of the sleeve 9 on the tube 4 when the umbrella is closed. The stall 1 comprises an upper member 1a, and a lower member 1b. A link 1C has a hinge connection with the staH-members 1aL and 1".

YWhen the umbrella is extended the tube 4 surrounds the adjacent ends of the staliimembers la and 1b and connects them rigidly. A spring latch 1i) mounted on the tube 4 engaging the lower end ofthe sleeve 9, serves to support the sleeve with its upper end abutting against the lower end of the sleeve 6, when the umbrella is extended.

In order to fold the umbrella the tube 4 will be slid upward on the stall to uncover the hinge connection 1C, and the handle 2 may then be turned upward to the position shown in Fig. 2.

Each bow comprises two members, 13 and 14 having a hinge connection with each other. The bow-members 13 and 14 are trough shaped and the memberv 14 lits within the member 13, as clearly shown in Fig. (S. One end of cach upper bow-member has a hinge connection with the ring 3, and a hinge connection with the corresponding lower bow-member 13.

Relatively short braces 16 are pivotally connected with the ring 12 and are also con nected with the bow-members 18 and 14 by pins 17. rJlhe upper ends of the bow-members 13 and the lower ends of the members 14 are rounded, as shown at 13a, so that4 when the members turn on vthe pivot V17 there will always be smooth surfaces contacting with the fabric covering the umbrella so that there will not be danger of pinching, tearing, or breaking the fabric at the places where the joints rub the fabric. Relatively long braces 15 connect the bow-members 13 with the ring 10.

A lever 18 is pivotally mounted on the sleeve 6, and has at its upper end a member contacting with the spring latch 5, in such manner that when the lower end of the lever is pushed upward the upper end of the lever will press the spring inward, so that the tube 4 may be slid upward on the staff, and when the tube is again slid downward to uncover the latch, the latch will spring outward and engage on the collar fa to prevent accidental upward sliding of the tube on the staif. The latch 5 has suiiicient springiness to normally keep the lever 18 in the position shown in Fig. 3.

To fold the umbrella the procedure will be as follows: The user will press with his thumb against the lower end of the lever 18 and move the lever upward until the upper end of the lever depresses the latch 5. He will then depress the latch 19 to release the sleeve 9 and will slide the sleeve 6 upward to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figs/l, and will then slide the sleeve 9 downward to the position shown in Fig. 2, and will then turn the handle upward to occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, until the bows and braces occupy the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. et. The upward movement of the sleeve will cause the tube l to move upward sufliciently to uncover the hinge connection 1C, to permit the handle 2 to be turned upward. To unfold the umbrella the procedure will be reversed.

Vhen the umbrella is extended the tube il, the sleeve 9, the staff-members 1@L and 1b, and the hinge connection 1c will be in the relation shown inFig. 8, and by depressing the latch 8 the umbrella may be raised so that it will be supported in its raised position by the latch 19, and upon depressing the latch 19 the umbrella may be lowered.

By reason of the construction shown and described the umbrella when not folded may be raised or lowered in the usual manner without disturbing the means adapted to fold the umbrella as described.

By reason of the tubes et and 7 of even caliber covering the parts of the rods 1a and 1b which are below the sleeve 6, the entire staff comprising the tube and the rods within the tube is smooth and does not differ in external appearance from the ordinary staffs of umbrellas, and the tube 4l stiens the entire staff.

Another feature of this invention is that the rounded hinge connection of the bowmembers obviate the cutting of the cover, which has been a serious objection to folding umbrellas as heretofore constructed.

Having fully described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The combination of a stalf, a tube slidable I on the staff, a latch mounted on the staff and controlling upward sliding of said tube, an upper sleeve and a lower sleeve slidable on said tube, a latch mounted on said tube and supporting said lower and upper sleeves, and a lever mounted on one of said sleeves and acting on the free end of the latch to depress the latch mounted on said staff to permit upward movement of the tube and the upper sleeveinounted thereon.

In witness whereof l have hereunto signed my name at Auburn, Illinois, this 21st day of January 1910.

STUART J. CLARK.

wWitnesses A. A. HARNEY, J. `W. VA'rsoN. 

